Noises, Noises, Oh the Beautiful Noises!
I had forgotten just how loud teenage girls can be. I mean, like, wow. Loud.
Last night we went to the Ritz Theater in Tiffin for the last night of the Ohio Jazz Summit. On this night, the featured artists were all vocal bands, largely acapella. The audience, though it did contain a sprinkling of Tiffin residents--like us--mostly comprised members of high school vocal groups who had been attending workshops all day. (Yo, Mom & Dad, there was a contingent from North Olmsted High here.) When opening act, Up In The Air launched into some currently popular song, I do believe my ears wanted to bleed, but they were afraid to.
Up In The Air is flagship vocal group from Tiffin University and is directed by Brad Rees (who also happens to direct the choir at our church). They're totally acapella and tend to perform a blend of R&B and pop, a very contemporary sound.
While Up In The Air is very "now" and in the popular groove, the second group of the night was what I would call a traditional jazz vocal group. They were the Jazz Singers from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Their set was much more intellectual musically, featuring all sorts of wicked harmonies and chord progressions. The group was backed with piano, bass, and drums, which allowed the singers to wander off into all sorts of musical tangents without having to worry about the rythm section. Like a jazz band, most of their compositions featured various solo breaks that featured lots of scatting. They didn't get quite the raucous reception that Up In The Air did, but I thought they were quite splendid, exactly what I would expect to hear stepping into a smoky, jazz club in the city. Actually, by the end of their set, I thought that if you took the female singers from the Jazz Singers and the male singers from Up in the Air, you'd have a majorly kickin' ensemble.
The night concluded with headliners In Pulse. Now, I mean no disrespect to the other three members of the group; they were quite wonderful and energetic and likeable and keen. But the delight of the evening, the performer that consistently made Sherry and I turn to each other in amazement, the one whose sound convinced Sherry that he was some kind of mutant rather than a normal human being, was vocal percussionist Paul Donnely. Beck may need two turntables and a microphone; this dude only needs one third of that ensemble. He stopped the show several times with amazing renditions of any style of drumming you could name, all produced with his voice. At one point, all the other singers left the stage, and he performed a "drum" solo that spanned jazz, rock, rap, and marching band style solos.
All in all, it was a wonderful night of listening to people make wonderful noises with their faces.
BTW, did I mention the screaming teenagers?
Last night we went to the Ritz Theater in Tiffin for the last night of the Ohio Jazz Summit. On this night, the featured artists were all vocal bands, largely acapella. The audience, though it did contain a sprinkling of Tiffin residents--like us--mostly comprised members of high school vocal groups who had been attending workshops all day. (Yo, Mom & Dad, there was a contingent from North Olmsted High here.) When opening act, Up In The Air launched into some currently popular song, I do believe my ears wanted to bleed, but they were afraid to.
Up In The Air is flagship vocal group from Tiffin University and is directed by Brad Rees (who also happens to direct the choir at our church). They're totally acapella and tend to perform a blend of R&B and pop, a very contemporary sound.
While Up In The Air is very "now" and in the popular groove, the second group of the night was what I would call a traditional jazz vocal group. They were the Jazz Singers from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Their set was much more intellectual musically, featuring all sorts of wicked harmonies and chord progressions. The group was backed with piano, bass, and drums, which allowed the singers to wander off into all sorts of musical tangents without having to worry about the rythm section. Like a jazz band, most of their compositions featured various solo breaks that featured lots of scatting. They didn't get quite the raucous reception that Up In The Air did, but I thought they were quite splendid, exactly what I would expect to hear stepping into a smoky, jazz club in the city. Actually, by the end of their set, I thought that if you took the female singers from the Jazz Singers and the male singers from Up in the Air, you'd have a majorly kickin' ensemble.
The night concluded with headliners In Pulse. Now, I mean no disrespect to the other three members of the group; they were quite wonderful and energetic and likeable and keen. But the delight of the evening, the performer that consistently made Sherry and I turn to each other in amazement, the one whose sound convinced Sherry that he was some kind of mutant rather than a normal human being, was vocal percussionist Paul Donnely. Beck may need two turntables and a microphone; this dude only needs one third of that ensemble. He stopped the show several times with amazing renditions of any style of drumming you could name, all produced with his voice. At one point, all the other singers left the stage, and he performed a "drum" solo that spanned jazz, rock, rap, and marching band style solos.
All in all, it was a wonderful night of listening to people make wonderful noises with their faces.
BTW, did I mention the screaming teenagers?
posted by T.C. Truffin at 4/01/2006 10:15:00 AM
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